Flying is one of the fastest increasing causes of global warming due to the carbon emissions from aeroplanes. Travelling by bus or train in a more environmentally friendly way to travel. If you do arrive by aeroplane then you can neutralise your carbon emissions and help minimise global warming by calculating output and donating to a reforestation programme. Please see http://www.carbonneutral.com/cncalculators/flightcalculator.asp for details (also calculates domestic flights, eg Kuala Lumpur to Kota Bharu).

From Kuala Lumpur

Flying – Fly to Kota Bharu with Air Asia or by Malaysia Airlines. Air Asia is cheaper but runs from the LCC airport, which is 30 mins taxi ride from the International Airport (KLIA). Malaysian Airlines is the better airline and, at the time of writing, still runs from KLIA.

The earlier you book the cheaper it is. Please check the baggage allowance as domestic flights allow less that international (approximately 15 kg). Air Asia is particularly strict with their baggage allowance and you will be charged if your luggage is overweight. Flight time is less than 1 hour.

Bus – Catch a bus to Kota Bharu, Jerteh or direct to the ferry port of Kuala Besut. Buses leave very regularly between the hours of 0900 and 2100 so you can travel either during day or night. Buses tend to be very comfortable with reclining seats. There are many companies that leave from the Hentian Putra Station (opposite the PW Trade Centre). Contact details for a number of these can be found at the bottom of the page.

Transnational offer the greatest number of journeys per day, with buses leaving at 0900, 1000, 1030, 2100 and 2130 to either Kota Bharu or Jerteh. Both Mutiara and Mahligai Express run buses directly to Kuala Besut. If you decide to take the overnight option then you will arrive in Kuala Besut in plenty of time to catch the first ferry to the islands.

Travelling by bus is probably the cheapest option from RM 31 (one way) and can be very comfortable. The journey will take at least 7.5 hours, but check with the bus operator for times specific to that company. Please do not believe the website of a certain company claiming they make the journey in 2.5 hours: That is not possible unless they have fitted jet engines to their vehicles.

Night train – This is a cheap, environmentally friendly option that is also quite fun. Book a place in the sleeping car and you will get your own little compartment with bed to sleep in. The train will take you to Wakaf Bharu (Kota Bharu) or Tanah Merah. Tanah Merah is slightly nearer to the ferry port of Kuala Besut so your best option if you are proceeding directly to the islands. You can find more details and online booking here and here, or in the table at the bottom of this page.

From Penang

Flying – Firefly are a new budget airline that fly from Penang to Kota Bharu. Flight time is less than 1 hour.

Bus - You can journey from Penang to Jerteh by bus. The journey takes approximately 6 hours. Travellers with a higher travel budget may even consider taking a taxi.

From Singapore or Johor Bharu

Flying – Air Asia fly from Johor Bharu (just across the Singapore border into Malaysia) to Kota Bharu only during the busy months (approximately July and August). Regular and inexpensive buses run from Singapore to the Johor Bharu airport.

Last season the only return flight was very early in the morning. This meant that guests had to leave the island the night previous to their flight and stay one night on the mainland. Please check the return flight times before you book. If it leaves before 1130 then you run a risk of missing it.

Train – A good way to do it. If you get the overnight train you get your own little compartment with bed. You can travel from either Singapore or Johor Bharu. See the table at foot of page for timetable and booking contacts. Some people enjoy the day journey but I personally don’t recommend it. Although still called ‘the jungle line’, most of the jungle was cleared for palm-oil plantations a long time ago. Watching them for 10 continuous hours is not much fun.

Bus – Slightly cheaper than the train but not quite as comfortable. Try KKKL Express or Transnational Express. See the bottom of the page for contact details.

From Bangkok

Flying – If you want to fly then you’ll have to go to Kuala Lumpur by Air Asia or alternative airline. From Kuala Lumpur take a connecting flight to Kota Bharu or take the bus or train as detailed above.

An alternative would be to fly to Hat Yai and then take a mini van to the border town of Sungai Golok. From Sungai Golok you would cross the border and then catch a bus or taxi to the port of Kuala Besut (over 1 hour and around RM 90).

Train – Travel to Sungai Golok and then take a taxi as in the option directly above. It’ll take some time and you have to change trains at some places. More information can be found here, here and here. The total journey time varies but is approximately 20 hours.

Bus – The buses are sometimes late and it’ll take a VERY long time.

Catching the Ferry

By taking one of the journeys above you will arrive at either Kota Bharu, Kota Bharu airport, Jerteh, Wakaf Bharu train station, Tanah Merah train station or directly at the port of Kuala Besut. You need to catch the ferry (fast boat) from Kuala Besut to reach the islands (see below).

If you arrive at Kota Bharu city, Tanah Merah or Wakaf Bharu (Kota Bharu) then catch a taxi to Kuala Besut. It’ll take an hour and cost around RM55 (cheaper from Tanah Merah).

If you arrive at Kota Bharu airport you can catch a taxi (RM 67). Alternatively, you can email us your arrival time and flight number and we will arrange for a driver to wait for you with a sign and take you to Kuala Besut in a minivan. For this service we charge RM 30 per person. At Kuala Besut we recommend two companies to buy your ticket from. One of them operates from our Watercolours office at the end of the main street. The other is MD Traveller Enterprise, which is off the main street opposite the Nan Hotel.

Ferry Times

If you miss the last ferry from Kuala Besut you can stay there at the Nan Hotel, located just off the main street. If you want to stay the night in Kota Bharu we recommend Crystal Lodge. Contact details in the tables below.

The ferry boats from Kuala Besut do not have fixed departure times. However, they leave at regular intervals from around 7am. Ferries rarely leave Kuala Besut after 4.30 - 5pm.

In the very low season (approx Feb and October) it may be advisable to contact us regarding ferry departures as there can be as few as 2 ferries per day. If you email us your travel details we will be able to give advice on ferry times as we can contact the ferry operators for you.

For your convenience, we are able to email you ferry tickets that can be paid for at our resort. This is a free service: the return tickets are RM 70 (the same as if you bought them yourself at Kuala Besut). If you are booking a package with us the ferry price is included in your quote.

The journey to the islands takes just over 30 minutes. The ferry boatman will ask you where you are going so he can drop you directly at our resort.